23 August 2012, 6pm Sister City travel for earthquake support

Christchurch City Council today agreed the Mayor will travel to Asia/Pacific sister cities to acknowledge post-earthquake support.

The travel, which will be funded within existing budgets, aims to reaffirm Christchurch’s commitment to the Sister Cities programme in light of support received from these cities after the earthquakes.

At the beginning of the meeting, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker announced that he would personally fund travel for the Mayoress on these visits and asked that staff recommendations on travel expenses for the Mayoress be withdrawn.

The item was part of the report from the Community, Recreation and Culture Committee.

The Council agreed by majority that the Mayor should travel to Asia/Pacific sister cities to say thank you for the support they gave our city after the earthquakes and to set conditions for economic development and exchange of best practice.

Committee Chair Councillor Yani Johanson has welcomed a further resolution passed by Council establishing a working party to review the International Relations policy and Sister Cities Strategy/policies and report back within six months.

“Enhancing and maintaining meaningful and effective Sister City and international relationships is incredibly important for our city. This is especially so because of the huge goodwill and generosity given from around the world in response to the earthquake. “I believe it is critical that as we move forward as a city we have greater alignment among those agencies and others who are seeking international investment, assistance, and exchanges. This includes CCT, CDC, Invest Christchurch, Sister City Committees, and the Christchurch City Council.

“There is a new dynamic post quake and it is essential we work together with coordinated policies and strategies to minimise duplication and maximise efficiency. The review of these policies was well overdue, and is even more critical to be done now,” Cr Johanson says.

© Scoop Media